How to Start An Education Business
As teachers, we naturally have many ideas about how to improve life for kids, parents, teachers, and the world.
But when do we have time to dive deep into these much-needed, brilliant ideas?
When we let ourselves dream about creating the future we desire, we take the first steps toward creating the change we want to see. Often, a great way to enact change— in yourself, your community, or even the world— is by starting an education business.
Whether you have a fantastic plan for a kids' product, a desire to teach a certain subject virtually, or you want to develop a way to support teachers (the possibilities are endless!), you likely have many impactful education business ideas that could meet a need.
Going from teacher to education business owner can seem far-off crazy for many teachers, but it’s not!
Even if you don’t have business experience, you have unique education expertise and transferable skills that you can leverage to start a successful business and create something of your very own. You can also learn any business knowledge you don’t have (just like any knowledge you don’t have).
Getting Clarity as You Start an Education Business
Start by considering these four questions to help you get clarity and create a path to follow as you move forward:
1. What change do you want to create when you start an education business?
Is there something about the education system that you know needs to change? Is there a better experience you hope teachers and/or students have? Is there a certain approach or curriculum that you wish more teachers used?
Think about what motivates you to start an education business and what change you want to see in the world of education.
Need to organize your thoughts? Create a chart like the one below and brainstorm your ideas:
Are there patterns in the thoughts you brainstormed? What area(s) do you find yourself gravitating towards? Trust your gut and explore what you truly want to change. If you’re going to take time to learn how to start an education business, you want your focus to be on something you feel invested in.
2. Who will your education business serve?
Who do you want to create a better future for? Maybe you want to create an app that changes how students think about math, perhaps you want to teach high-quality content to students virtually, or maybe you want to develop self-care practices for teachers.
Whatever it is, get clear on who you will serve when you start an education business and who your ideal clients would be (such as individuals, school districts, or companies). Growing an education business is truly about building relationships and helping people.
Take it a step further and talk to those people. Through your conversations, try and figure out what pain points your business could solve for them. What change could you create for these people? How would you do it? From your discussions, pay attention to the themes and patterns that you see emerging.
3. What small steps can you take to start an education business?
The key to starting a business? START! Just take one tiny step after another. The beautiful thing is that through the process of taking action, you can learn so much. If you planned everything out before taking action, you would miss out on learning by doing.
Trust in yourself and your ideas, then take a step forward. As you make progress toward your goals, reflect on what is working, what isn’t working, and what you could adjust. Approach your business with curiosity, stay open to new ideas, and collect data along the way to continually improve your business as needed.
When you see everything as an opportunity to learn and grow, trying something new— even starting an education business!— will feel easier and more joyful.
4. What do you need to learn (and how can you get the support you need)?
When I first started my business, I knew very little about business. But through the process, I’ve learned so much!
I’ve also been able to use what I learned as a teacher, a social media consultant, a curriculum writer, and a consultant. All of your varied experiences will help you on your business journey.
You’ll also learn so much along the way. For instance, some of the key points any business owner needs to learn more about and consider as they start their business could include:
Who you’ll market your business to
How you’ll market it
Where you’ll find your ideal customers
How you’ll connect with your ideal customers
How you’ll build a website, email list, etc. (Step 1: don’t get overwhelmed!)
Just because you’re an entrepreneur, doesn’t mean you have to figure it all out on your own. Ensuring you have support is one of the most powerful things you can do as you start and grow your business.
When starting and growing a business, there are inevitably going to be new challenges and mistakes along the way. As teachers, we’re of course used to things not going exactly as planned. Channeling this adaptability, flexibility, and growth mindset will make all the difference in your success and happiness as an education business owner.
Are You Ready to Start an Education Business?
Do you feel like you are ready to make your dream a reality? There truly is no better time than the present to get started! The key to actually building the business of your dreams is to take action and get the support you need.
The Grow Your Education Business Accelerator program is an empowering 3-month program designed to help educators launch and grow a successful education business.
While many ideas and courses out there focus on business strategies, this program is uniquely designed for the education industry to give you everything you need to have a successful education business.
Whether you want to learn how to start an online teaching business, education consulting business, or tutoring business– or you need help growing a product-based education business, the accelerator can help.
Through the accelerator, you’ll fast-track the growth of your business by learning the foundations of marketing and sales. By the end of our time together, you’ll get a clear sense of your offers and product suite, discover exactly who your ideal clients are, and create a thriving and growing email list.
Beyond that, you’ll feel confident selling and promoting yourself, knowing that you have a supportive community cheering you on!
The accelerator is designed to be an intimate, high-touch program, so we only have limited spots available on an application-only basis.
Apply now to start your journey toward a rewarding, profitable education business.
Have questions? Contact Educator Forever anytime!